Методичка для социологов

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ И НАУКИ РФ

Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное учреждение

«АЛТАЙСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ»

WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?

Учебное пособие по английскому языку

Барнаул 2012

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УДК 811.112=20(075.8)

What Is Sociology? [Текст]: учебное пособие по английскому языку для студентов факультета социологии Алтайского государственного университета . Барнаул: АлтГУ, 2012. – 51 c.

Составитель: доцент кафедры иностранных языков гуманитарных факультетов Кузикова Т.Г.

Рецензент: к.ф.н., доцент кафедры иностранных языков гуманитарных факультетов Беляева В.А.

Учебное пособие “What Is Sociology?” предназначено для развития навыков чтения, говорения и интерпретации текстов по специальности для студентовсоциологов. Каждый раздел содержит множество заданий, позволяющих развивать и совершенствовать устную речь, а также активизировать профессионально-ориентированную лексику, что поможет студентам читать и переводить оригинальную литературу по специальности и вести беседы на темы, предусмотренные программой.

Данное пособие рассчитано на аудиторную и самостоятельную работу студентов 2 курса дневного и заочного отделений всех специальностей факультета социологии.

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UNIT1. WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?

The name of sociology was first suggested in the 1830s by the French philosopher Auguste Comte, but for many years it remained only a suggestion. Comte urged others to study philosophy.

It was not until late in the19th century that we can identify people who called themselves sociologists and whose work contributed to the development of the field. Among these were Herbert Spencer in England who published the first of threevolume “Principles of Sociology” in 1876 and Ferdinand Tonnies in Germany. A decade later, Emile Durkheim published “Suicide”.

The first sociologists studied moral statistics. Their work proved so popular that it led to the rapid expansion of census questions. However, sociology as an academic speciality was imported from Germany. The progressive uncovering of social causes of individual behavior – in response to the questions raised by moral statistics – produced the field called sociology.

Sociology is one of the related fields known as the social sciences. They share the same subject matter: human behavior. But sociology is the study of social relations, and its primary subject matter is the group, not the individual.

There is a close connection between sociology and other disciplines such as psychology, economy, anthropology, criminology, political science, and history. But sociologists differ from psychologists because they are not concerned exclusively with the individual; they are interested in what goes on between people. They differ from economists by being less interested in commercial exchanges; they are interested in the exchange of intangibles such as love and affection. Sociologists differ from anthropologists primarily because the latter specialize in the study of preliterate and primitive human groups, while sociologists are interested in modern industrial societies. Criminologists specialize in illegal behavior, while sociologists are concerned with the whole range of human behavior. Similarly, political scientists focus on political organization and activity, while sociologists survey all social organizations. Finally, sociologists share with historians an interest in the past but are equally interested in the present and the future.

Sociology is a broader discipline than the other social sciences. In a sense, the purpose of sociologists is, in general, to find the connections that unite various social sciences into a comprehensive, integrated science of society.

Sociology consists of two major fields of knowledge: micro sociology and macro sociology. Micro sociologists study the patterns and processes of face-to-face interaction between humans. Macro sociologists attempt to explain the fundamental

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patterns and processes of large-scale social relations. They concentrate on larger groups, even on whole societies.

Sociologists attempt to use research to discover if certain statements about social life are correct. The basic tools of their research are tests, questionnaires, interviews, surveys, and public opinion polls.

Task 1. Transcribe the following words and learn their pronunciation: anthropology, identify, illegal, macro, micro, philosophy, primary, process,

psychology, science, social, society, sociologist, sociology, speciality, specialize

Task 2. Answer the following questions:

1.Who was the first to suggest the name sociology?

2.Who were the first sociologists?

3.What were they mainly interested in?

4.What country was sociology as an academic discipline imported from?

5.What is the subject matter of sociology?

6.What other disciplines is sociology closely connected with?

7.What is the goal of sociologists?

8.What fields of knowledge does sociology consist of?

9.What do micro sociologists study?

10.What do macro sociologists attempt to explain?

11.What are the basic tools of sociological research?

Task 3. Explain the difference concerning the subject matter between:

a)sociology and economy;

b)sociology and criminology;

c)sociology and history;

d)sociology and psychology;

e)sociology and anthropology.

Task 4. Read the text and translate it in writing:

Sociology, as a science, takes its point of departure from the materialist world outlook in its application to the solution of social problems. In this application sociology demonstrates its scientific character as it employs some guiding principles in the understanding of social affairs.

They are:

1)The society in its development is regulated by objective laws discovered by science.

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2)Views and institutions, political, ideological and cultural developments arise on the basis of the development of the material life of society.

3)Ideas and institutions, which thus arise on the basis of conditions of material life, play an active role in the development of material life.

So, sociology studies regularities in social processes, connections between social events, which are independent of our consciousness and will, social relations and social institutions. Sociology is concerned, as well, with circumstances which give rise to the formation of aims and intentions in people’s minds. Different people have different aims. This does not mean that individual psychologies differ, but it expresses the fact that people find themselves in different circumstances, with different interests arising from those circumstances.

Task 5. Speak on:

1.The origin of sociology.

2.Its subject matter.

3.Differences and similarities of sociology and other social sciences.

4.Major fields of sociology.

5.Basic sociological research methods.

6.The guiding principles of sociology.

Task 6. Translate the following words and word-combinations into Russian:

It was not until late in the 19th century; three-volume; rapid expansion; census questions; in response to the questions; share the same subject matter; exchange of intangibles; preliterate and primitive human groups; similarly; are equally interested in; large-scale social relations

Task 7. Find in the text English “What is sociology?” equivalents for:

Это оставалось только предложением; спустя десятилетие; оказалась настолько популярной; одна из смежных областей; тесная связь; главный предмет; противозаконное поведение; весь спектр человеческого поведения; в то время как социологи занимаются; в определенном смысле; всеобъемлющая комплексная наука об обществе; основные области знаний; фундаментальные модели; основные инструменты исследования

Task 8. Translate the following sentences into Russian:

1.He was greatly concerned with the latest sociological research.

2.In their conversation they concerned a great number of vital problems.

3.His main concern was sociology.

4.They talked much concerning the main points of his report.

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5. She was concerned with the problems of social relations at the high level of the society’s development.

Task 9. Memorize the following words and word-combinations:

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UNIT 2. SOCIAL BAROMETER

A great part of sociological research consists of quantitative experimenting. The system of techniques used for that purpose is that of statistical methods. These methods are necessary to examine the data, analyze them and draw certain conclusions. The results of the sociological survey are published then.

Sociological research is usually conducted by a working group under the supervision of the leading sociologists of the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion. The public opinion poll is a criterion of the current social life within the society. It is the so-called social barometer of the country. In fact our fast-moving life makes it necessary to analyze things. So it is useful to examine the results of sociological surveys.

The public opinion poll is carried out nationwide or in some definite regions, cities, establishments. It may be verbal in the form of an interview. But more often the opinion poll is conducted by means of tests or questionnaires. The questionnaires contain some items to be chosen by the subjects. In other cases the questionnaires present a set of questions to be answered by the respondents in their individual way. The polled may express their own opinions verbally or in writing. The assessments may be optimistic, pessimistic, dramatic, positive, or negative. They expose and reassess our ideals and values.

The polls are very popular nowadays throughout the country. In general, they are directed to assess current social and political situation, political figures, the most important events, economic perspectives, our losses and gains, and so on. All data are given in percentages.

Task 1. Transcribe the following words and learn their pronunciation:

analyze, barometer, criterion, examine, figure, ideal, individual, interview, percentage, perspective, respondent, result, situation, technique

Task 2. Answer the following questions:

1.What methods are the basic tools in every sociological research?

2.Who conducts sociological research?

3.What is considered to be a social barometer?

4.Where is the public opinion poll carried out?

5.In what form may it be conducted?

6.What are the questionnaires like?

7.How do the polled express their opinions?

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8.What do assessments expose?

9.What is the aim of the polls?

10.How are all data given?

Task 3. Divide the text into four logical parts.

Task 4. Speak on the main points of the text.

Task 5. Try to make up your own questionnaire and offer it to your groupmates.

Task 6 . Look through the fresh newspapers and find there some information on the latest polls. Be ready to comment on it.

Task 7. Translate the following words and word-combinations into Russian:

Sociological research, sociological survey, public opinion, public opinion poll, to conduct a poll, to carry out a poll, the polled, respondent, to assess, to reassess, assessment

Task 8. Find in the text English equivalents for:

система методов; с этой целью; рабочая группа; современная общественная жизнь; так называемый; по всей стране; в других случаях; ряд вопросов; пересмотреть идеалы; потери и приобретения; и так далее; в процентах; в наше время

Task 9. Fill in the blanks with the necessary words: to conduct, conclusions, to examine, poll, to assess, assessments

1.Statistical methods are used to analyze the data and draw … .

2.The opinion … is carried out nationwide.

3.Leading sociologists … a poll all over the country.

4.The polls are directed to … social and political situation.

5.The respondents give their … verbally or in writing.

6.Sociologists carefully … the obtained data.

Task 10. Complete the following sentences:

1.The public opinion poll is a criterion of … .

2.It is the so-called … .

3.The poll is carried out … .

4.It may be verbal in the form of … .

5.The opinion poll is conducted by means of … .

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6.The polls are directed to … .

7.The poll data are given in ….

8.The assessments may be … .

9.The polls are very popular nowadays … .

10.The questionnaires contain some items … .

Task 11. Translate the text in writing:

The foundation of Comte’s work was an attempt to apply scientific methods to the study of society and to the practical task of social reform. In his own lifetime, scientific thinking was becoming more sophisticated and influential than ever before, increasing human knowledge about the physical world. Why not, Comte reasoned, apply the same scientific methods to understanding the social world? In Comte’s view, sociology should attempt to determine the laws that govern human social behavior, in much the same way that natural laws govern the operation of the physical world. Comte’s sociological study was concerned with what he called social statics - how society maintains itself as a cohesive system of many interrelated parts

– and social dynamics – how society changes in an orderly way according to specific social laws.

Task 12. Memorize the following words and word-combinations:

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UNIT 3. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

The discipline of sociology involves more than a distinctive point of view. The sociological perspective illuminates new facts in countless familiar situations; but linking specific observations together in a meaningful way involves another element of the discipline, theory. In the simplest terms, a theory is an explanation of the relationship between two or more specific facts. To illustrate the use of theory in sociology, recall Emile Durkheim’s study of suicide. Durkheim attempted to explain why some categories of people (males, Protestants, the wealthy, and the unmarried) have higher suicide rates than do others (females, Catholics, the poor, and the married). To do so, he linked one set of facts – suicide rates – to another set of facts – the level of social integration characteristic of these various categories of people. Through systematic comparisons, Durkheim was able to develop a theory of suicide, namely, that people with low social integration are more prone to take their own lives.

To provide another illustration, how might we explain the sociological observation that college science courses in the United States typically contain more men than women? One theoretical approach would suggest that the sciences are more attractive to males than to females; perhaps males simply have a greater innate interest in science. Another possibility is that American society encourages male to develop an interest in science while simultaneously discouraging this interest in females. A third theoretical approach might suggest that the educational system has some formal policy that limits the enrollment of women in science courses.

As this example suggests, there may be more than one theoretical explanation for any particular issue. Therefore, the ability to link facts together into a meaningful theory does not in itself mean that theory is correct. In order to evaluate contrasting theories, sociologists make use of various methods of scientific research.

As sociologists use these scientific methods to gather more and more information, they are able to confirm some theories while rejecting or modifying others. In the early decades of the 20th century, several sociologists interested in the rapid growth of cities developed theories that linked city living to distinctive patterns of human behavior such as pronounced impersonality and even mental illness. However, research completed during subsequent decades has found that living in a large city does not necessarily result in social isolation, nor does it diminish mental health. Within any discipline therefore, theory is never static, because sociologists are continually carrying out research, sociological theory is always being refined.

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